Hide in the world of gods and demons

Chapter 50 Snow Night Monster
I've been in this world for over half a year.

Chen Li was no longer completely ignorant about this place, unlike before.

The Longevity Domain, encompassing the vast western wilderness, is a newly developed area of ​​this world. The Longevity Sect and its surrounding sects are located on the very edge of the western wilderness, a desolate place within a desolate place.

The entire Longevity Sect migrated here, and it has only been a short century since then.

Green River Square has only been established for a little over twenty years.

This place is located in the northwest corner of the Longevity Sect, bordered by the Artifact Gate to the north and the desolate land to the west. It is far from the core prosperous area of ​​the Longevity Sect. Rather than a market town, it is more like a stronghold established by the Longevity Sect on the frontier, an enclave.

In such undeveloped territory, the Longevity Sect would naturally not relocate mortals to their deaths. Those who come here seeking opportunities are mostly restless, rootless, and independent cultivators. Perhaps in another hundred years, this place will gradually become prosperous and thriving.

It was just a mutually destructive sect war that turned this place into a forgotten land.

Now that there are no sects guarding the market, prices have soared. In particular, the Longevity Sect used to collect ordinary clothes and quilts from mortals to sell here, but even that has stopped now.

This winter will obviously be particularly difficult for many down-on-their-luck wandering cultivators.

Fortunately for Chen Li, who was well prepared, the only impact of the heavy snow was that he couldn't go out.

Moreover, given his current physique, he has already shown signs of becoming immune to heat and cold. Even in the dead of winter, wearing only an inner lining and a robe on the outside, he only feels slightly chilly in the face of the biting cold wind.

Chen Li went into the kitchen and found that the water in the large water tank had frozen.

He was thinking of flicking his spiritual energy at the ice in the water tank.

But after hesitating for a moment, I gave up on the idea.

If the water tank bursts, it will be a real problem.

He drew his flying sword from his waist and flicked it, the blade flashing slightly. In a short while, he sliced ​​off a pile of ice shards. He put the flying sword away, picked up a water ladle and filled a pot with the ice shards. Then he used the 'Fire-Starting Technique' to light the firewood and start boiling water.

I took care of some errands last night.

On a whim, I researched various uses of red robes, tinkering with them until very late.

Zhou Hong is still unable to get out of bed.

The ice in the pot melted quickly, sending up plumes of steam.

Chen Li scooped out most of the hot water, cut a piece of frozen monster meat into small pieces with his flying sword, washed it, poured it into the pot, sprinkled it with an appropriate amount of salt, and then took out a few tubers of a plant called sweet potato, peeled and cut them into pieces with his flying sword again, and put them in. He then started to light the fire and add firewood to stew it.

In the dead of winter, a bowl of hot monster meat porridge is undoubtedly a wonderful thing.

……

Five days later, heavy snow fell again, and the howling of the cold wind was even sharper than the sound of a cannonball tearing through the sky. Chen Li estimated that the outside temperature had been at least minus thirty or forty degrees Celsius for the past few days.

Although such cold winters are not uncommon in some northern regions before the crossing, and the temperature is so low that it doesn't even attract much news attention, the indoor temperature remains warm and spring-like no matter how cold it is outside.

However, most of the independent cultivators here choose to tough out the cold winter by relying on their physical strength as cultivators. There is no custom of using kang beds here, and there is no fireplace or floor heating. When it is cold, they will at most warm themselves by a fire or put a brazier in the bedroom.

These days, not a single person can be seen in the entire shantytown; all activity has come to a standstill. Chen Li finally understands what it means to hibernate. Meanwhile, the monsters in the deep forest are facing the test of severe cold and hunger.

After animals become demons, they become more resistant to cold due to their stronger physiques and rarely retain their previous habit of hibernation. Now, the thick snow covers the tracks of prey, making them even more difficult to find and catch, forcing them to seek new ways out.

In the early hours of the morning, Chen Li and Zhou Hong were awakened by a piercing scream.

The two were instantly wide awake, and when they looked at each other, they both saw the unease in each other's eyes.

Normally, a scream in the dead of night wouldn't be a big deal in the shantytown; even Chen Li was used to it. But with heavy snow blocking the roads, activities halted, and everyone hibernating, this was clearly very unusual. Chen Li quickly got up: "I'll go check it out!"

He picked up his sword and walked to the front door, listening intently. The sounds outside were indistinct in the howling wind, but he could vaguely hear the crunching of something enormous on the snow.

Then another terrified scream drifted over.

“They might be monsters coming to hunt for food.” Zhou Hong also got up and came over, saying softly, “This happened several times last winter, and I heard that quite a few people died.”

Chen Li's heart pounded violently.

'I hate this world.'

He gripped his sword, listening intently to the sounds outside.

The crunching sound of footsteps on the snow grew clearer, accompanied by an eerie snoring sound. At the same time, a suffocating atmosphere spread, making one uneasy and somewhat breathless.

Zhou Hong felt it too, her voice trembled, and her eyes were filled with terror in the darkness.

"This... is not an ordinary demonic beast, it's a second-tier demonic beast."

Chen Li's breathing also became heavy.

A second-tier demonic beast is equivalent to a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the human realm.

When the Longevity Sect was around, there might have been Foundation Establishment cultivators from the sect stationed here to deal with this terrifying creature, but now... they can only leave it to fate.

"Don't speak or make any noise from now on," Chen Li whispered.

Zhou Hong nodded.

The room fell completely silent, with only the faint, rapid breathing of the other two people audible.

Time passed second by second. When the monster was closest to him, Chen Li could even feel the ground trembling slightly and smell a faint stench. Fortunately, the worst did not happen. It circled around for a while and then moved further and further away.

Soon, there was no more sound.

The two remained motionless and listened for a long time before letting out a sigh of relief in unison.

"Oh no, this is terrible!" Zhou Hong suddenly remembered something, and her face turned pale.

"What's wrong?" Chen Li's heart, which had just settled down, was startled again by her sudden outburst.

“This monster won’t leave,” Zhou Hong said. “It didn’t learn its lesson this time and even got a taste of the good food. It’s very likely to stay in the vicinity. With so many rogue cultivators gathered here, what food is better to find than humans in the dead of winter?”

Chen Li's face turned ugly upon hearing this.

……

Half an hour later, Chen Li opened the door, his face covered in snow.

He flipped over and leaped onto the roof.

It was still dark in the early morning, and with the wind and snow, visibility was extremely low. But under the reflection of the white snow, he could still vaguely see the black footprints on the snow hundreds of meters away.

And a cluster of collapsed houses nearby.

The terrifying beast had vanished without a trace, its whereabouts unknown.

(End of this chapter)